Tortillas are traditionally thin disks of unleavened bread that are made from cornmeal or wheat flour. According to Mayan legend, tortillas were invented by a peasant for his hungry king in ancient times. The first tortillas, which date back centuries, were made of native corn with dried kernel.
In Mexico and some Central American countries, corn is transformed into food products by a process known as “nixtamalization”, which involves the alkaline cooking of whole corn kernel and breaking of the hull down toward a partially gelatinized state. Afterwards, the cooked corn is washed, ground and dried to give corn masa flour for different product applications. The main edible product of the traditional process is the “tortilla” which is a flat, round, unfermented and baked thin pancake produced from lime-cooked maize.
Whereas tortillas have been a staple in the Latin American diet for thousands of years, consumers in the United States are just now beginning to discover the convenience, versatility, and great taste of tortillas. Thanks in part to the widespread popularity of Mexican and Southwestern cuisines, many Americans now enjoy eating tortillas. In fact, tortillas are more popular today in the U.S. than all other ethnic breads, such as bagels, English muffins and pita bread.
The versatile tortilla can be warmed in the oven, steamed, grilled, fried, heated in a microwave or toaster or baked in the oven. Accordingly, tortillas have found their place in the American mainstream diet, where they now serve as substitutes for traditional breads in such popular fare as hot dogs, lasagna, pitas, sandwiches and pizza. Tortillas can be used to hold a variety of fillings, used as tasty food scoops, toasted and topped with salad, or served hot and plain.
In 2000, tortilla sales in the U.S. reached the $4.4 billion mark and the sales are expected to continue to grow. As testament to their popularity, the Tortilla Industry Association (TIA) estimates that Americans consumed approximately 85 billion tortillas in 2000 (not including tortilla chips).
Thus, there is an increasing demand and use of industrially prepared tortillas so that sufficient numbers of tortillas can be produced to meet the demands of consumers, such as convenience, availability, price and quality.
Also, as people work longer hours there is less time in the day for households to create and cook healthy meals so, instead, they often turn to fast food and restaurants. Recent trends in convenient food consumption have indicated that convenience may be more important to consumers than nutrition.
Unfortunately, although tortillas are unquestionably convenient, versatile, and great tasting, traditional tortillas are not particularly healthful. They are high in carbohydrates and fat, and contain ingredients that are not appropriate for high protein diets, or for individuals with certain food allergies. Although soy protein has been proposed as an ingredient for production of higher protein tortillas, there are a variety of advantages of animal protein compared to soy protein and many consumers prefer animal protein.
Accordingly, there is a significant need for a new improved tortilla that is high in protein, low in fat, has great taste and texture, and can be readily produced, stored and used. The current invention addresses these and other related needs.